HELP! Belly Button Fluid Leaking and Detaching Bag

Replies
12
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727
johnmcarrafa
May 13, 2024 2:30 am

We got out of the hospital 9 days ago and we have to replace the bag twice a day because fluid from the belly button leaks under the adhesive and detaches the bag.
Has anyone had this problem?

AlexT
May 13, 2024 3:45 am

Why does your belly button leak?

warrior
May 13, 2024 5:29 am

No, I have not had that problem...

Holy misplaced appliance, Batman. Call the doctor a Joker, because he messed up the placement, it seems. Or-

You are probably leaking from your button due to surgery. That isn't right. 9 days new to this? Welcome, my friend. You haven't seen anything yet...

Mine is close to my button, but I can see stitches there, and I can see how it could leak from that area, spoiling the seal.

Get it checked.

One should never have leaks like that. Nope.

Posted by: Kimmy050263

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, messages, and tips! So many have helped! We are learning as we go, learning the ins and outs of this bag. I have ordered special tape that does not irritate my skin and am now using Domeboro powder before putting on a new bag. My boyfriend says that my skin is so much less red!

Saw an ostomy nurse today; she said my boyfriend is doing everything right. One of my issues is that I am really thin, and my skin is really crinkly due to the surgery. We shall see how this bag goes.

This site is a real blessing. Everyone here is so awesome!

Kim

warrior
May 13, 2024 5:30 am

He probably forgot to button it. 😆

Axl
May 13, 2024 7:26 am

In my two major operations, they went through the navel both times. It was the last incision to heal by a long shot, wept a lot but didn't cause an issue, just annoying. Are you using flange extenders? They may help.

 

My Ostomy Journey: April | Hollister

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Past Member
May 13, 2024 12:44 pm

Belly button fluid from what, may I ask? And have you cut the side of your wafer so it doesn't sit over the belly button?

Footie97
May 13, 2024 11:15 pm

My stoma was very close to my belly button, and I had trouble with the flange lifting from that edge. I only had one blowout at work. I was lucky to have it reversed at 3 months. I ended up cutting the flange biased away from my belly button to offset it from that area. It worked for me.

Axl
May 14, 2024 9:47 am

It's just abdominal fluid. They use the navel here as another access point for keyhole surgery.

Past Member
May 15, 2024 2:15 am

Really? Well, do they do it robotically then?

Axl
May 15, 2024 9:48 am

No robotic, they call it advanced laparoscopic surgery. I have had the colon and rectum removed and a J-pouch created, taking three separate procedures, then J-pouch disconnected and back to the ileo. I only have one 3" - 4" inch horizontal scar very low on my pelvic bone, which they went through twice, which was just to remove the unwanted parts. Other than that, there were four 1 cm incisions around the perimeter of the abdominal cavity and another in the navel for the gas, camera, and instruments to be introduced, none of which have left a scar.

Past Member
May 15, 2024 11:27 am

Hey, interesting, sounds kind of similar to robotic arm surgery. In robotic surgery, they have 3 arms and a camera, so the three smaller arms are in your stomach in three different spots, and the bigger one has the camera that is inserted in the middle. If you look at pictures, it looks like an octopus or a claw from that claw machine game where you try and get the stuffed animal. The doctor controls the robotic arms from behind the machine. It actually gives a 180-degree view of everything and is more precise than doing it all by hand. Now, they don't use it for ileostomy surgery here, but they use it for a lot of other surgeries. I have had the robotic arm surgery done 6-7 times for other things, my hysterectomy, my colon removal, and for other things. It works way better than a traditional laparoscopy. They are able to move and look around and under other organs in the body without having to do an open surgery. Pretty trippy, and recovery time is cut in half with less scarring and infection rate. But like I said, they don't do it for creating ileostomy here but many other things.

Axl
May 15, 2024 1:14 pm

Very similar at the end of the day. The wife just had a hip replacement 3 weeks ago. They use the robot for that now too.

Past Member
May 24, 2024 12:29 pm

It has become very popular to do surgeries that way.